Agatha Christie classic brings murder and mystery to Curtain Call

Christina Hennessy

Published 6:41 pm, Thursday, January 10, 2013

Police inspectors, played by Tom Costaggini, left, and Jim Foley, right, undergo an interrogation in rehearsals for Agatha Christie's "The Unexpected Guest," which will play in Stamford, Conn.-based Curtain Call's Dressing Room Theatre, Jan. 11 through Feb. 3, 2013. For more information on show times or tickets, call 203-461-6358 or visit http://www.curtaincallinc.com.
Photo: Contributed Photo

Police inspectors, played by Tom Costaggini, left, and Jim Foley,...

A young member of the Warwick family, played here by Rob Nichols, sneaks up on Miss Bennett, played by Stamford's Cathy Cordaro, in Agatha Christie's "The Unexpected Guest," which begins its run at Stamford, Conn.-based Curtain Call's Dressing Room Theatre, Jan. 11, 2013. For show and ticket information, call 203-461-6358 or visit http://www.curtaincallinc.com.
Photo: Contributed Photo

This is the third time he will be working with material from the well-known mystery writer. He's already helmed productions of "The Mousetrap" and "Then There Were None" for the nonprofit Stamford-based theater company.

"I've been a big Christie fan since I was a kid," he said.

This is actually the second time Fenster will be working with this play, which Christie wrote in 1958. In 2001, when he was just starting out in community theater, he directed a production for the Darien Players.

The action of the story begins to spin when a stranger arrives at a home in the Welsh countryside after having run his car into a ditch. To his surprise, he discovers a former big-game hunter who has been killed and the man's wife standing nearby with a gun in her hand.

"It has so many twists and turns that it really keeps the audience guessing," said Cathy Cordaro, a longtime Stamford resident, who plays Miss Bennett, who serves as a kind of house manager. "She loves this family very much and is very protective of them."

Given the murder-mystery parodies and spoofs that have made their way to the stage and screen over the years, Fenster said it is important to keep the story grounded in realism and to keep the characters believable.

"They can be a little dated at times ... so you have to know how to treat it properly to make it work for a modern audience," he said. "When you can strike the balance between the raw undercurrent and the dark comedy, then you have the audience."

It appears that the first step in that effort -- getting people into the seats -- has already been successful. Several performances have sold out and new shows have been added.

"I think people just love to try and figure out the mystery," Cordaro said when asked why this genre is so often a popular one.

"And they can be very vocal about it," she said, laughing.

And, given the venue's cabaret-style seating arrangement, it is likely the audience might feel as if they are right in the thick of things.

"It is a really interesting venue to work in," Cordaro said of the Dressing Room Theatre. "It feels very intimate, with the audience so close to the action."